Brooklyn Dumplings Bicycle Tour

Brooklyn Dumplings Bicycle Tour

I have always loved learning about different cultures, and then identifying the similarities among them. When I was in Turkey, I had manti for the first time—tiny pieces of dough wrapped around a speck of lamb, covered in a yogurt sauce. They reminded me of all of the dumplings I grew up eating as a Chinese- and Vietnamese-American in Boston.

I began thinking about the many familiar cuisines from around the world that embrace the culinary art of something delicious tucked into dough. And luckily, so many can be found in New York City—and even just in Brooklyn.

In my research, I discovered even more dumplings from other regions, as well as spirited debates about what constitutes as a dumpling. For the purposes of inclusion, this project's definition is pretty loose, ranging from what may typically be labeled a dumpling, to empanadas and meat pies.

Part of the world.

Zooming in on Brooklyn in the Google Map reveals the type of dumpling and where it can be found. Zooming out on the world reveals the countries of origin, correlated to the restaurants in Brooklyn by color. I also used symbols to identify the foods that fall squarely into the dumpling category, and those that are debatable.

In addition to the amount of variety, dumplings are a great food tour food, because one order can easily be shared among a group. And biking is the best way to enjoy the sprawl of places in Brooklyn. But Google Maps isn't perfect for this project—for example, I haven’t been able to overlay bike paths onto the map, which has made planning the tours time-consuming. In the two times I've led the tour, the most places we've visited were 4; dumplings can be very filling!